Category
Scientist
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02.06.09watching winter weather
Scientist, Winter, documenting nature, nature study (3)cold front by iansand on flickr Cold fronts are exciting. The boys love them for the cathartic rain (since there is a shortage of that where we live) and the thunder, when it comes (which is never, in northern California). Their enthusiasm peaks when they are exposed to rainfall and puddles and mud; my fascination peaks as I watch the fronts roll in. Maybe it's the product of living for a spell in Dallas, with a weather radio on the bedside table, chasing tornadoes home from the YMCA with a baby in the backseat. Maybe it's hurricane shellshock. Growing up in ...
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02.05.09Guiding Nature Hikes
Hiking, Scientist, nature study (6)Nature hikes--taken at leisure together to absorb the worlds we pass on foot--are my favorite curriculum. It blends the best: exercise, meditation, inquiry, comprehension, dialogue and creativity. It engages all senses, forging the day into memory better than any passive classroom unit. When the book was written, children had more freedom and unscheduled time to roam and discover nature on their own. The backyard was only the beginning. Even today, it is all that has ever been necessary; a child left to roam the back yard is still as free as ever. Children just need more time to roam. Left to ...
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01.27.09Starfish Hands
Aquaria, Fishing, Scientist, documenting nature (5)In his section on the preservation of marine animals, Daniel beard suggests securing a starfish to a board and leaving it in the open air till it dies. The result of this would be a dried starfish that is perfectly flat. I am fairly certain that Seth would be mortified by this procedure and vehemently object. Here's why... It all started a few years ago at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. One sunny winter day Seth and I arrived early and enjoyed a morning of rich tidepooling. While waiting for Chas and Ford to show up for lunch, Seth was idly fiddling ...
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